Bloomberg: English court eases sanctions on Petr Aven's bank accounts
A London judge has eased a freezing order on some accounts linked to Petr Aven used to pay bills and security, according to a ruling made public on Monday - the court dispute is part of an investigation into the billionaire's charges of evading sanctions imposed on him after Russia invaded Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Petr Avens is the grandson of Latvian rifleman Jānis Avens, born in Jaunpiebalga, and a billionaire who has invested in several countries around the world, including Latvia. As he is considered close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he and a number of other wealthy Russian people have been sanctioned in Europe and had their bank accounts frozen. In contrast, the US has not imposed sanctions on Aven.
Monthly expenses - £140,000
The descendant of a Latvian rifleman is involved in extensive litigation with the United Kingdom. The authorities accuse Aven of evading sanctions, including excessive expenses for the upkeep of his mansion.
In May, the National Crime Agency (NCA), the UK's investigative body, raided Aven's home. One of the objectives was to establish the circumstances under which more than £3 million was sent from Austria to the UK hours before the sanctions were imposed. The property, near London, holds a £300 million art collection, according to Bloomberg.
Monzo Bank Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc. have frozen almost £1.5 million allegedly linked to Aven. "This is a crucial test of whether the UK can effectively tackle sanctions evasion through criminal enforcement," Helen Taylor, a researcher at the Spotlight on Corruption campaign, told Bloomberg.
Bloomberg, citing the English court ruling, notes that Aven's relatives have been funding his basic needs since March 15 this year. The billionaire's monthly expenses are said to be £140,000 ($167,840), much of which is for the protection and insurance of his art collection, a person with knowledge of the case told Bloomberg. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Aven's wealth is estimated at $5 billion.
According to the judgment, the judge has decided to ease restrictions on the accounts from which the billionaire covers his basic personal needs.
According to Bloomberg, Aven's lawyers, who manage his household, are requesting that the freezing orders be lifted because they are not in accordance with the law. For its part, the NCA has stated that the accounts should remain frozen to allow for "complex investigations" both in the UK and in other countries.
Aven himself has refrained from commenting on the investigation and the court's judgment.
Reputation comes at a steep price
Meanwhile, Forbes and other sources report that Alfa-Bank of Ukraine shareholders, including Aven, who owns 12.4% of the bank, are preparing to further capitalize the bank with one billion dollars. It is stressed that the bank's liquidity is sufficient as it is, but that the additional billion will allow to "stabilise the bank's management" in the light of the sanctions and to ensure that the bank "continues to work for the Ukrainian economy".
Alfa-Group, of which Aven is a shareholder, has transferred its stake in IDS Borjomi Georgia to the Georgian government free of charge. The value of this stake is estimated at $100 million.
Among other things, the popular Borjomi mineral water, which had disappeared for some time due to the impossibility of paying for deliveries because of sanctions, has reappeared in Latvian shops.
In Latvia, Aven is registered as the beneficial owner of the Pēteris Avens’ Charitable Foundation "Paaudze". He was also previously the co-owner of SIA Klauģu muiža and from 2007 to 2020 a member of the Board of JSC Latvijas Balzams.
Until recently, Avens was well respected and welcomed in the highest corridors of power in Latvia. He was regularly seen at events hosted by Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs for Latvian ambassadors to other countries and for ambassadors of other countries to Latvia.
His charitable foundation "Paaudze" has financed the restoration of St. Tom's Church in Jaunpiebalga, the construction of an acoustic concert hall at Dobele Music School, the equipping of Madona Hospital and the Children's Clinical University Hospital with the latest technology, as well as around 200 other charitable events.
Lawsuits against sanctions
According to Bloomberg, forbes.ru and meduza.io, more than 30 individuals have now filed lawsuits in European courts to have their names removed from sanctions lists. Ten of them have taken their case directly to the EU institutions. According to forbes.ru, the Council of Europe's lawyers have confirmed that the legal basis for decisions to sanction individuals is inadequate under European Union law, and that the guilt of the individuals for being sanctioned is poorly argued.
They explained that, while, for example, in the USA sanctions are imposed on individuals on the basis of national security considerations, which can be the basis for restricting the rights of certain individuals, European legislation is dominated by an emphasis on human rights and their inviolability, which makes it incomparably more difficult to find justification for sanctions.
Among the sanctioned persons currently fighting for the lifting of sanctions are well-known billionaires such as Russian and Finnish citizens Gennady Timchenko and Boris Rotenberg, Russian and Cypriot citizens Igor Kesaev and Oleg Deripaska.